Page:Calcutta Review (1925) Vol. 16.djvu/396

380 Mohammedans of the Panjab speak Panjabi dialect at home, but the educated ones read and write Urdu. In the same way attempt is being made, though not yet in a decisive form, to universalize Urdu amongst the Mohammedans of Bengal, as also in the Western Presidency. In a way, Urdu is becoming the lingua franca of the Mohammedans of India. In this wise, they are trying to bring about the “acquired mental homogeneity” necessary for the Mohammedan nationhood. Thus in future, given the conditions being favourable, through the community of character arising out of community of fate, and the mental homogeneity thus acquired artificially through the community of language, the Indian-Mohammedan Nationality will be formed which will be a nation within the Indian nationhood which will be a calamity.

In the same way pious wish is being expressed by the Hindus to form a Hindu nationality. For this reason it is being preached to make Hindi as the lingua franca of the Hindus all over India. Thus while all are shouting hoarse over the sacredness of Indian Nationality, attempts are being made to build up two different nations! But the curious thing in this matter is that while the Hindus talk, the Mohammedans act! The Hindus talk of establishing Hindu solidarity but the disintegrating, disruptive and anarchist tendencies inherent in Hindu social-polity being insurmountable, it is they who cannot unite, and on language basis are building up different provincial nationalities such as the “Bengalee,” “Mahratta” and not the Mohammedans! If the Mohammedans succeed in future in building up the all-Indian-Mohammedan nationality based on religion and imported language, the provincial unities based on community of character and language existing hitherto will break up, viz., Bengal will be divided into two nationalities, and the Panjab which is already on the road to develop three nationalities, namely, the Mohammedans with Urdu language and Persian script, the Sikhs with their Gurumukhi script, the Hindus under the